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The mission of the É«ÖÐÉ« is to raise the knowledge, skill, and opportunity of all the people in New York. Our vision is to provide leadership for a system that yields the best educated people in the world.

Central to the Department’s mission and vision is the belief that we must both increase student achievement for all students in the State while at the same time closing gaps in student achievement between our lowest and highest performing students. Taken together, these initiatives have been designed to create a comprehensive, systemic approach to advance excellence in teaching and learning and to promote equity in educational opportunity throughout the state system in New York. This system consists of:

• Well-designed learning standards and aligned curricula that are measured by authentic and meaningful assessments;
• Core instruction (standards, curricula and assessments) delivered by well-prepared, highly effective, racially/ethnically-diverse teachers and school leaders who have received high quality, differentiated professional development that is informed by evidence of educator practice and data on the longitudinal academic growth of students; and
• The analysis and use of these data to inform improvements in instruction to propel and accelerate the yearly academic progress of students.

Research consistently confirms that instructional practices and leadership strategies are among the most significant school-based factors impacting student outcomes. Although research suggests that out-of-school factors have the greatest influence on student outcomes, effective teaching and school leadership are essential elements in ensuring that all students graduate ready for college, careers, and citizenship.

The Department believes the overall quality of teaching and learning can be raised through alignment to the Educator Effectiveness Framework.